Becoming happy using self-hypnosis
Being happy is a state that everyone naturally wants to achieve, but which is harder for some to achieve than others. Lately, a photo with a quote by Keanu Reeves, an actor, has been circulating on the Internet that the only one standing in the way of your happiness is yourself. He had a depressive episode and when he realized that he was trapping himself in his slump he started doing things differently.
To help you, too, escape from your own slump, I discuss how self-hypnosis can help you do so.
In another blog, I talked about how being happy is a choice. Now when you get angry that if it was that easy you really would have done it and that this is total bullshit we are going to make sure your brain is happy first so you can be happy next.
To do this, we’ll use a few simple tricks. The first of these is laughing—and by that I don’t necessarily mean laughing out loud, but rather smiling. Laughing stimulates certain areas of the brain associated with a good mood (1). That, at the very least, helps a little in becoming happy.
Self-hypnosis exercise
Now we are going to do a self-hypnosis exercise to make your brain happy and make yourself feel a little lighter.
- Stick that smile on your face and breathe deeply through your nose. Hold your breath for two seconds and exhale deeply through your nose until all the air is out of your lungs. Remember to keep smiling.
- Repeat the following statements five times during this relaxed state while continuing to smile:
I am calm.
I'm Safe.
I choose to live in the now.
- Now close your eyes and think of the cutest, happiest and most joyful thing you can think of. For me, that's kids playing happily, but for you, it could be kittens or puppies that are still a little clumsy. The weather is beautiful and they are playing in a meadow full of flowers. For you, this visualization may be a little different, but remember to keep smiling and that this is the cutest, happiest and happiest thing. Visualize this for about 1 minute.
- Now ask yourself these questions: Why am I so relaxed right now? Why do I feel somewhat (or maybe even completely) happy right now? And give yourself a minute to answer this.
- Conclude the process by taking another deep breath through your nose while smiling, holding it for two seconds and then exhaling all the air through your nose. Remember to keep smiling.
Are you at least a little lighter now? Has at least 1 haze of negative energy gone away? Let me briefly explain why this can work.
Explaining the practice of self-hypnosis
What you just did is a form of meditation and self-hypnosis. First, you have started to relax which has already released muscle tension that can make you feel stressed. By getting rid of that muscle tension, at least your body no longer reinforces the feelings of anxiety or stress and you get to the basics.
You’ve then given yourself hypnotic suggestions. These make you feel safe and help you live fully in the here and now. Anything that’s not within your field of vision doesn’t exist at that moment. It’s still there, but you’re not thinking about it for a moment (3).
For example, if you're preoccupied with the news a lot, it can make you feel unsafe. Not only because there is a threat of terrorism, but also because of news about the economy that you may think affects you. While most people never have to deal with terrorism or a really bad economic situation, such as homelessness, in the Netherlands. So there is really no reason at all to let the news ruin your mood. You don't have to let it upset you and make you react angrily that everything is going wrong.
Also, everything from the past is gone for a moment. Because you live in the here and now for a moment during that exercise. Thoughts about something that once happened or what should have happened don't bother you for a while. Fears about the future are not there. Living in the here and now is actually very peaceful.
With this knowledge and by following this self-hypnosis tip, you can also put into practice the tips from the blog post “Happiness Is a Choice.” If you’re still finding this a bit challenging, keep reading.
The science on self-hypnosis and happiness
Scientists want to make everything measurable, so everything must be “visible.” Did you know, for example, that scientists cannot define love? They can define affection and kindness, but not love, because it’s a feeling and not something they can see. Fortunately, they can measure happiness. This makes it possible to conduct research on the effect of hypnosis on your sense of happiness (2).
If you have a job that causes a lot of stress or makes you feel unhappy in some other way, thoughts about it won’t bother you for a little while during self-hypnosis. Research on self-hypnosis among people who work in the healthcare sector showed that self-hypnosis helped ensure they could continue to enjoy their work, gave them greater resilience after a negative experience, and, as a result, improved their quality of life.
Being sick can also make you feel unhappy. If you’re seriously ill, this can undermine your confidence in your body, which can lead to a slump in your mood. A study of people who had to undergo heart surgery showed that self-hypnosis the night before the procedure helps you go through the surgery more calmly. In addition, self-hypnosis improved quality of life by reducing symptoms of depression, anxiety, and fatigue —and this was achieved after just one self-hypnosis session.
Hypnotherapy and getting happy
Scientific research also shows that hypnotherapy can help make you happier in three different ways.
Hypnotherapy, for example, gets you to do more of the things you set your mind to. You get more focus on what you are doing and more control over your emotions when things go differently than expected.
For example, you might remain stuck in your “unhappiness” because you think you’re unable to take a certain action that would make you happy. Your hypnotherapist can help you realize that you are, in fact, capable of doing those things. This also boosts your self-confidence, so you’re essentially killing two birds with one stone. Once you become convinced that you can actively work toward your happiness and that you’re capable of doing what’s necessary to achieve it, it becomes much easier to take those steps. After all, if you can do it, why wait?
The exercise of visualizing something cute was a small visualization of some kind of goal. Visualizing your happiness strengthens the idea that it is in your control and that you know and can walk the path to happiness. This also makes you more likely to take the steps necessary to become happy because you have a clear goal in mind. Like enjoying nice weather or that nice cup of tea. It can already be in the little things.
Moreover, hypnotherapy doesn’t just help temporarily suppress emotions triggered by your past, current circumstances, or thoughts about the future. Hypnotherapy, when guided by a hypnotherapist, can even transform these emotions. This means you don’t have to feel down just because something didn’t go well. For example, when it comes to emotions caused by events in your past, regression therapy can help.
In the process, a hypnotherapist can also give you suggestions you can use during self-hypnosis that are completely applicable to your situation.
In short
Self-hypnosis can help make you happier by briefly putting aside all worries and thoughts, when you do this while smiling you also directly influence your brain to feel more positive. Self-hypnosis makes you relax which is already incredibly de-stressing. The suggestions put you in a good mindset about your ability and feeling you want to have at that moment. A visualization can provide an upbeat feeling and also give you a goal to work toward.
Scientific research conducted on heart patients, caregivers and others also shows that self-hypnosis gives you more control over your life and your sense of happiness.
In addition, you can get help from a hypnotherapist to really work on your sense of happiness.
Want to learn more about hypnosis and what it can do for you and others?
Then come to a free online master class on hypnosis.
Or check out Hypnosis Institute Netherlands' training programs.
Also, pin this helpful exercise on Pinterest as a reminder:
Sources:
http://pss.sagepub.com/content/4/5/342.short
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ch.382/abstract
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00029157.2013.846845